Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Thursday, Mar 30, 2023

Reforms push for university in Hong Kong after ‘appalling’ protest handling

Reforms push for university in Hong Kong after ‘appalling’ protest handling

Bill proposes to reduce size of governing council while drastically increasing the proportion of external members.

Senior management of a leading Hong Kong university will have less say over the selection of its head under a bill moved by pro-establishment lawmakers which seeks to drastically reform the varsity’s governing body.

The proposal, introduced by three lawmakers currently sitting on the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) council, followed the reappointment of Rocky Tuan Sung-chi, who will stay on as president until 2026.

Approval of a new three-year term for Tuan in April drew criticism from the pro-establishment camp, with some complaining it amounted to rewarding him for his questionable performance during the 2019 social unrest, when he showed sympathy towards protesting students.

The bill, unveiled on Tuesday night, proposes to reduce the number of council members from 55 to 34, while drastically increasing the proportion of external members.


Chinese University president Rocky Tuan.

Under the proposed amendment, the number of external members – individuals who are not students or university employees – would drop to 23 from the current 28. The number of internal members would be cut from 27 to 11.

The council would therefore be dominated by external members at a ratio of 2:1 to internal ones, who currently take up half of the membership.

Four out of the university’s six vice-presidents, two college heads, seven faculty deans, four fellows representing different colleges and three senate members would be kicked out of the council.

The bill also suggested raising the threshold for the council to appoint the university’s president. While the current CUHK ordinance only states that the council should decide on the appointment, the proposal said it should be approved by not less than three-quarters of the members.

External members would therefore have a bigger say on future appointments of CUHK’s president.

The three lawmakers – the Liberal Party’s Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, Edward Lau Kwok-fan from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment Progress of Hong Kong and Bill Tang Ka-piu of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions – said the amendment was prompted by CUHK’s handling of protests on its campus in 2019.

“During the anti-government turmoil in 2019, there was a riot on the campus of CUHK but the attitude and handling of the incident by CUHK was appalling,” they wrote.

“It not only damaged CUHK’s reputation, but also severely impacted the public’s trust in CUHK. Major stakeholders outside the school are extremely disappointed.”

Lawmakers Edward Lau (left), Tommy Cheung and Bill Tang.


They also accused the university administration of “acting in its own way” on the reappointment of the president and criticised the handling of a new design of CUHK’s emblem, which they said had “deeply frustrated” stakeholders outside the varsity.

The council chairman, originally appointed by the chancellor – the city’s leader – based on the council’s nomination, would be picked by the chancellor directly.

The council’s vice-chairman would also be appointed by the chancellor, instead of being elected from among its members.

The private member’s bill will first be discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s education panel on Friday.

The university’s governing council in April resolved that Tuan would be reappointed for three years commencing January 1, 2024.

It was widely reported that three lawmakers on the council – including Cheung and Lau – had opposed the resolution. The third was Alice Mak Mei-kuen, who now serves as secretary for home and youth affairs

The university on Tuesday said it would set up a task force to further consult various stakeholders and submit the preliminary results to the council after it had a meeting on Monday to listen to the proposal.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
Close
0:00
0:00
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
“We've had evidence prior to the pandemic that masks were largely ineffective at preventing community transmission of influenza “
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz:
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz rejects being labeled a "billionaire"
Jamie Dimon is being deposed over JPMorgan Chase role in Epstein lawsuits
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
Social Media censoring users for saying the true
Smart Iranian fashion designer teaching dummy TV anchors lesson about reality
AMERICA, 2023
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Singapore’s Prime Minister says China and US need to stabilize relations because world can't afford a confict between the two superpowers
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Reform Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Bordeaux town hall set on fire in France pro democracy protest
Police violence in Paris
Paris: Some of the police are stepping down and showing solidarity with the protesters.
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Goldman Sachs cuts outlook for European bank debt over Credit Suisse crisis
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
The US government has charged Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with leading a $1 billion fraud scheme that cheated thousands of followers out of their money.
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
The BBC problem about China
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
"Will Fly Wherever International Law Allows": US Warns Russia After Drone Incident
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Announcing GPT-4
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
China is calling out the US, UK, and Australia on their submarine pact, claiming they are going further down a dangerous road
A brief banking situation report
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
'No relation to the American SVB': India's SVC Bank acts to calm depositors amid brand name confusion.
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Saudi Arabia has announced a major breakthrough in diplomacy with Iran after two years of intense talks
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
×